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I’m not one of those guys that hates Las Vegas and I was a little bummed that Interbike after a 12 year hiatus is returning to Anaheim, California. I attended most of the shows here in Sin City and have many fond memories for the place: the parties, people I met and the rides/races I attempted. Las Vegas, you will be missed…

Yesterday was the start of Interbike and the date was circled on my calendar. No, not because this was where all the latest and greatest bike gadgets were going to be displayed – let’s be honest, a lot of that happened at Euro Bike weeks ago and the major manufacturers have already had their press junkets. For me it was the opportunity to race Cross Vegas.

For many people Cross Vegas has become the kick off cyclocross event for 2010/2011 season. Many of the big name domestic pros are in attendance as well as a few Europeans. Also, there are beer gardens and the spectators embrace the Euro cyclocross excitement with clanging bells, horns and drunk behavior – God I love it.

My build up to the event had, let’s just say, not been ideal. Personal issues as well as a nagging back injury all prevented me from being in any type of fitness. So three weeks out from the race I decided to go the complete opposite method of training: not prepare and just make a huge spectacle of myself. What this means was grabbing as much free beer from the spectators lining the orange fencing as possible. Now I had a plan.

Working on my third beer

Cannondale’s new full carbon SuperX was my weapon of choice. Weighing in at just over 15 pounds and with a sharp looking paint scheme the SuperX was just damn sexy. My buddies at Contour HD hooked me up with a HD video camera to capture the shit show that was going to be my cyclocross race. In my haste to attach it to the top of my Giro it was aimed toward the ground for most of my race, only catching the occasional flash of a rider passing me or my out reached hand grabbing beer on the uphill barriers section. Regardless I had a great time and pretty sure I made a bit of a spectacle of myself. The Cross Vegas race was streaming over the web and there were sightings of me walking up the barrier section with my plastic beer cup in hand – perfect.

I’ll figure out how to edit the the video and pick some highlights from my race such as stealing a guys beer and the pro ladies yelling at me to not spill it and my snappy reply of, “I’m a pro. I know what I’m doing.”

So even though I did not defend my 2008 Cross Vegas media category win, it was a victory for me. I ended up slightly buzzed, not bleeding and able to eat free soft tacos in the VIP area. That’s a score in my book.

I had initially planned on doing a Live Chat, up the internet connection is flaky plus there are so many things goin on here at the show it’s hard to pin down a time. However, I will be a guest on the Spokeman program that will be streaming live at 3:00 PM Pacific Time where I will be entertaining and germane. Check it out on the Interbike site – I’m sure there’s a link for it somewhere. Also, follow my Twitter (Neilroad) as I will be updating when I get more information.

UPDATE

Here’s the link for Interbike TV where the Spokesmen show will be broadcast.